Project Purpose
Trees for Water

Location
The project involves plantation of trees on the community land in the basins of Mej, Menali and Lilri rivers. Plantation will occur in villages such as Nahargarh, Suras, Mehta Ji Ka Kheda, Chansen, Kathano ka Badiya, Kidmal, Kanti, Meno Ka Kheda, Bhilwara, Rajasthan.

Aim

• Improve the hydrological cycle of the area to address the drought conditions.
• Impact the rain-fed agricultural practice and animal husbandry of the area which are the major means of livelihood of the area.
• Recharge the water table of the area, improve the water crisis of the area.
• Increase in the density of tree cover to prevent loss of soil moisture due to evaporation.

Why trees?
The project area lies in an area having water scarcity. Scanty monsoon fills up to 0.61% of the dam's capacity. As a result, the city receives less than 260 lakh litres of water daily against the demand of 513 lakh litres of water. Officials of public health engineering department supply water via train/ferry (up to 25 lakh litres of water). Plantation of trees in this drought-prone region is expected to improve the water table. The plantation of trees will hold the water with the help of its roots, preventing them both from percolating deep into the soil as well as getting evaporated, (Victoria State Government). The trees play an important role in the hydrological cycle of the forest ecosystems.  Barbara J Bond et al., in her article, ‘How Trees Influence the Hydrological Cycle in Forest Ecosystems.’ Mentions the role of trees in the forest hydrological system.

Flora 

Trees species planted here include Khair (Acacia catechu), Churail (Holoptelea integrifolia ) Karanj (Pongamia pinnata ), Babool (Acacia nilotica ) Bel (Aegle Marmelos) and Ber (Ziziphus spp.), Siras (Albizia leebeck ), Shisham (Dalbergia sissoo) and Amla (Emblica officinalis ).

Fauna

Animal species found here include Leopard, Green Keelback Snake, Isaballine, Chinkara, Jackals, Blue Bulls, Foxes.
Bird species such as Indian Yellow Tit, Orange Headed Thrush, Indian Blackbird, Aravalli Red Spurfowl. White Rumped Vulture, Red-headed Vulture.


Social Impact
Trees planted have created around 4,000 workdays of workdays of jobs to the rural communities and will offset approximately .1,000,000 kgs of carbon on maturity. Trees, especially drought-tolerant local tree species, will provide measures to tackle the consequences of drought. The trees in the desert have deep taproots that utilise deep capillary water and through transpiration maintain the moisture of the atmosphere, which in turn induces rainfall. Tree covers prevent evaporation from rivers, reservoirs, and gravitational and capillary water, thus maintaining the groundwater table and saving water for agricultural purposes. Planting indigenous trees help drought-prone areas cope and will sustain long-term benefits in Bhilwara.

Adoption Summary: